Venezuela blames US for plunging oil prices

Struggling to emerge from a deep recession, Mr Nicolas Maduro, President of Venezuela, blamed the United States for the plunge in oil prices that has hit the oil-rich nation and his opponents for staging protests earlier this year, bringing the economy to a halt.

Mr Mauro blamed the US for the plunge in oil prices in its ‘war’ against Russia. He said that “Did you know there’s an oil war? And the war has an objective: to destroy Russia.”

Mr Maduro said that a barrel of Venezuelan oil cost USD 48 compared to September’s price of USD 95 per barrel.

He said referring to the cold diplomatic relations between Venezuela and the US since 1999 when late Mr Hugo Chavez became president that “It’s a strategically planned war also aimed at Venezuela, to try and destroy our revolution and cause an economic collapse.”

Mr Maduro blamed the increasing shale oil production in the United States for creating oversupply on the global oil market.

Venezuela, a member state of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, is heavily dependent on the oil revenue, which provides 96% of its income. Since June global oil prices have fallen about 50% to below USD 60 a barrel with the market being flooded with supplies despite weak demand from importing countries due to lackluster economic growth.